Roller skating, particularly in-line roller skating, has become extremely popular in recent years. In-line skates generally have a rigid frame and a skate boot attached to the frame. In-line skates also include a plurality of wheels mounted to the frame for rotation in a common plane. The frame carries the axles of the wheels, which are mounted in parallel spaced-apart alignment. Thus the frame and attached wheels provide a narrow lateral base on which a skater must balance while skating.
The boots of in-line skates generally include hard outer shells with an inner soft boot or liner. In some skates, the hard outer shell may be integrally molded with the soft liner. The liners are typically made of textiles, including leather, mesh, cloth and other soft fabrics. The hard outer shells are typically made of rigid or semi-rigid plastics. The hard outer shells provide necessary support, while the soft liners provide comfort for the skater's foot. The soft liners do not provide the support that the hard outer shells provide.
In-line skating allows high speed and maneuverability, but also requires skill, strength and coordination by the skater. Skill and coordination are required to maintain lateral balance on the narrow frame and single plane of wheels on each skate. Strength is required to build up speed and exert lateral forces for turning. A typical skating motion includes a skater exerting lateral and downward pressure with a foot and lifting the foot and skate with every stride. The skater alternates these movements between each foot until a desired speed is reached. Also, the skater will continue to perform the skating motion to maintain a desired speed.
Because the repetitive motion of lifting each skate can be tiresome and cause fatigue, it is desirable to have a skate as lightweight as possible. Some skates, therefore, provide only portions of a hard outer shell in order to reduce the weight of the skate. For example, U.S. Pat. No.5,437,466 issued to Meibock et al., provides a rigid or semi-rigid heel counter and toe counter with only the soft shoe portion provided along the sides of the foot in the arch region between the heel and toe counters. Thus, little support is provided to the foot in this area. Also, the soft shoe is non-removably connected to the hard outer shell portions. Therefore, once the fabric of the soft shoe begins to wear, the comfort is significantly diminished as there is less protection of the foot from the hard outer shell portions.
Other skates, having hard outer shells surrounding a significant portion of the skater's foot and having an inner soft liner can also be problematic. While such skates provide support to a substantial portion of the skater's foot, the skates tend to be heavy. In addition, the outer shell generally does not provide desirable shock absorption or vibration dampening when the skater's foot exerts pressure within the boot. The soft liner is constricted by the hard outer shell and, as the foot moves or exerts pressure within the liner, the liner abuts the hard outer shell thereby minimizing any shock absorption or vibration dampening.
Similarly, many ski boots also have hard outer shells surrounding the entire foot and part of the lower leg. For example, Italian Patent No. TV93U000011 filed by Nordica, S.p.A. on Mar. 17, 1993, discloses a ski boot having a hard outer shell and a shock absorbing midsole between the shell and sole. The hard outer shell of this boot provides sufficient lateral support such that the midsole extends upwardly from the sole only in the toe and heel areas. That is, the reference does not show extending the midsole to provide support along the sides of the mid-section or arch area of the foot because the hard outer shell is already positioned along these areas.
The present invention provides a solution to these and other problems and offers other advantages over the prior art.